Water eliminator for cooling towers



Patented Aug. 30, 1938 PATENT oFFicE WATER ELIMINATOR FOR COLING Waldo ltr-Kell, Kansas City, Mo., assignor to The Marley Company, Kansas City, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application september 15, 1937, serial No. 164,003

s emma.' (ci. lss- 15) This invention relates to water eliminators'for use at the top of cooling towers and has for its general object to produce an eliminator assembled lin sections or unitsof a plurality of'serpentine or zigzag passageways, so that the eliminators may be placed in or removed from operative position for repair or other purposes, without necessitating the services of a carpenter or other expert workman.

Another object of the invention is to produce a construction in which the louver slats or boards are in threaded relation to spacers and supports.

,and are more or less loosely held in position, since it has been found that this permits the boards to accommodate themselves to warping with the result that there is less breaking, splitting or crackingof the boards and their lives are materially prolonged.

A further object of the inventionis to produce an eliminator which does not depend on the strength of driven or threaded metal parts for its life, since it has been found that wooden eliminators as at present constructed, have a life limited by the fastening means employed.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an eliminator of such nature that the turbulence of the air passing out through the eliminator is increased, thus inducing more comf plete deposition of moisture before the air exits 30 through the top of the labyrinth, this object being accomplished by a spacing of the boards or slats as will hereinafter appear.

With the general objects named in view, and others as will hereinafter appear, the invention construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it may be fully understood, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:-

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an eliminator embodying the invention.

Figure 2 'is an enlarged cross-section through a portion of the eliminator as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of one end of an eliminator slat-supporting grill member.

Figure 4 is a section through the upper end of a cooling tower taken longitudinally of the water eliminator bridging the tower.

In the drawing, where like reference characters identify corresponding parts in all of the figures, a plate-like member, which may be of anydesired material, guage orv thickness, length and width, as will hereinafter more particularly appear, is formed to provide a plurality of serpentine or zig-zag cross passageways of lsuch width as to consists in certain novel and useful features of more or less loosely receive in threaded relation louver boards or slats, as by 'providing pairs of spaced bars I and 2, or, of course, the passageways might be cut or punched out of sheet material. Each pair of spaced bars I-2 is, by preference, provided with stop or connecting portions 3 at their angles, for a purpose which will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing, the plate-like members, which for convenience may be referred to as grills, are so formed that each pair of bars I-2 are connected to adjacent pairs of bars by end pieces 4. In the construction shown the grills are of such length and width respectively, as to provide eliminator units capable of receiving in threaded relation seven rows of slats or louver boards i arranged three deep or on three diierent levels, thus providing two breaks or changes in the direction of air currents passing up through the eliminator. The proportions of parts` is such that each slat is more or less loosely held to permit it to warp or move slightly along its entire length,

since it has been found that if such a slat is rigidly held at a plurality of points, it quickly splits and cracks in the endeavor to accommodate itself to the unequal strains set up by the warping of the boards in service. Of course, the grill units may be made to provide a larger number of rows in either depth or in numbers countedv horizontally, if desired. Each grill, if made as here shown. is formed with male and female ends for interlocking engagement with adjacent grills.

The pairs of bars |2 are spaced apart such distances that air passing up between the slats 5 must change its direction of travel as previously mentioned. thus causing the air to deposit its moisture on the inclined faces of the louver slats. In the preferred construction, the edges of adjacent louver boards or slats I are spaced apart by the stops I. and although this construction has been found non-essential, it is desirable as it increases the turbulence of air passing through the eliminator and thereby increases the deposition of moisture.y

With a construction embodying the invention the louver slats 5 may be assembled in threaded loose relation with 'the desired number of grills, depending on the lengths of the slats which is determined by the span to be bridged or the width of the cooling tower. In the construction shown in Figure l, four grills are illustrated in supporting and spacing relation with each span or section of the eliminator. In practice, it has been found that by providing shelves or supporting surfaces 6 at the top of a cooling tower 1 and placing the the ends o! the louverslats. each unit of the eliminator may be placed in-position on the shelves without necessitating of employing secury ing or hold-down means of any kind as the weight o! each section is distributed over the ends of all o! the slats of the lowermost row.

v l By making the grills of metal such as-cast iron, it is found that the lite oi the eliminator vis limited only by the lite of the slatsor boards, which outlive other constructions where an eilort is made to tasten the louver members rigidly in position.

From the above description, it will be apparent that I have produced a construction which embodies all oi' the features of advantage set forth as desirable; and while I have described vand illustrated the preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that I reserve the right to all changes within the spirit ofthe invention and without the ambit of the prior art.

I claimzv 1.`A cooling tower havingv an open upper end and provided along two of its opposite sides with supporting shoulders; said open end of the tower being closed by a water eliminator comprising a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal rows of slats spanning the tower from shoulder to shoulder with the lowermost row of slats resting on the tower shoulders, and a series of plates having zigzag arranged openings through which the slats are loosely threaded to provide tortuous passageways, the plates being spaced longitudinally along the y a,1as,eve endmm mus adjacente ma shelves to atmen slats and out of direct contact tower structure. l A

2.Acoollngtowerhavin gsnopenupperend and provided along two of its opposite sides with supporting shoulders, said open end of the tower being closed by a water eliminator comprising s plurality o! -vertically spaced horizontalrows ot slats spanning the tower from shoulder to shoulder with the'lowermost row ot slats resting on the tower shoulders, and a series oi plates having -sigzag arranged openings through which the slats are loosely threaded to provide tortuous passageways, the plates holding the slats against contact with adjacent slats and being spaced longitudinally along the slats and out oi' direct contact with the cooling tower structure.

3. A cooling tower having an open upper end and provided along two of its sides with supporting. shoulders, said open end oi' the tower being closed by a water eliminator comprising series of vertically spaced horizontal rows of slats, spanning the tower from shoulder to shoulder with the lowermost row of slats resting' on the tower shoulders, and a series of plates having zig-zag arranged openings through which said slats are loosely threaded, the plates being spaced longitudinally along the slats and out of direct contact with the walls of the cooling tower to hold a predetermined number of slats as a unit assem-l bly, said plates being arranged in endwise abutting series, parallel to the supporting shoulders of the cooling tower.

WALDO R.. KELL. 

